For anyone not here on the 1st the comments below the comic won’t make sense. Click here to see what the page looked like at the time. I blocked all of the comments coming from people that figured out the joke. I’ve now let them through so a lot of them will seem strange mixed in with all the others. Keep in mind most of these people read the comments and saw that nobody had figured out the joke and so they thought they were the first one to post about it. I guess I kind played a prank on both groups.

———-original post———-

I usually get started on a project right away when I arrive at work. I’ll be there for a few hours before taking my first break. I’ll walk up to the mirror in the bathroom and realize that I have a blob of toothpaste in the corner of my mouth or a big chunk of hair sticking out in a weird direction. I then have to playback the morning in my head trying to remember how many people I had talked to in person what the expression was on their face.

I only have 4 of the bonus sketches left for the book 2 pre-order. Thanks again for everyone that has pre-ordered the book! I wouldn’t be able to make these books without you.

Yeah I had been getting a lot of complaints lately about Biff’s eyebrows getting out of control so I decided to pull them back in a bit. I’m going to redraw the face on the recent comics over the next few weeks to bring them more in line with this improved look.

Whoa! Why did Biff’s eyebrows and mouth shrink? That was what gave Biff character, and to see them gone smaller makes him look odd. I would say bring them back, as it was part of his character appeal and his style.

Wow, I’d never imagine anyone would complain about his eyebrows or mouth. I mean, they made Biff.. Biff. Aside from his near insanity and seemingly indestructibility. Take it from someone who actually has thebookofbiff as their homepage, leave the eyebrows!

Also, I love how I can always relate to your little comment-type thing under the comic. I guess it’s just interesting hearing something so human, y’know?

But now I feel the need to check a mirror in case I have something on my face. Argh.

The eyebrows make Biff Biff. I love them, he looks weird without them… We’ve known him like this from the start, so it’s going to be new readers that go “WTF?” and send you emails to make him more realistic. I know when I showed people the book and when I wear my Biff shirt people always say “what’s with the eyebrows?” Do you listen to the emails or comments of people who say “There’s no such thing as invisible green cars, stop being so silly”?

I’ll admit that the brow turned me off at first, but I’ve grown to really like it.
That said, I understand. You are trying to appeal to your readership, and potentially attract new readers, and judging by said emails and my original misgivings, the unkempt brow might be a hinderance.

Also, I thought Biff would be able to do anything better with one hand “tied” behind his back.

Aaah, but you’ll find people are fast to complain and slow to compliment… I agree with the majority of other posters here… The eyebrows and mouth are what make Biff, Biff… I nearly fell off my chair when I say this comic, it looks incomplete!
-Jimbo

I’ve been reading and enjoying your comic for a long time now. I’m only posting now to say that no matter what you do with Biffs eyebrows some people WILL be unhappy and complain about it. I say you should make them the way you want them. You cannot possibly please everybody, be true to yourself.

What if Biff were a real person? According to this comic, he’d be asian.

Chris, perhaps you could hold Biff’s original style for ransom. Perhaps you could state that you’ll only change it back if a hundred people post photos of themselves punching themselves in the face as hard as possible.

Then you could do a comic with Biff, arms spread out in awe, facing a wall consisting of those pictures, with the caption ‘Biff realizes that this must be what it’s like to be God.’

Never posted here before, but the change in his mouth and eyebrows can’t go without comment.

I have to agree that the old style was a large part of Biff’s character, part of what made The Book of Biff unique. They threw me off at first, but quickly grew on me (not literally, I don’t think that’s humanly possible).

Frankly, if you’re going to complain about things being wacky and out of control, Biff’s mouth and eyebrows are probably some of the more normal things about him.

aww… We should’ve spoken up sooner, but we seemingly did not know about all those emails. how would we? we weren’t the ones sending them (at least I wasn’t). Anyway, I agree that we should keep biff’s eyebrows all long and cool. It makes the comics funnier. And I offer my condolences for your suffering. It’s hard to keep people happy. But you seem to be doing a really good job, just don’t work yourself too hard.

You do have a very good point Chris, but you’ve got to remember the saying “squeaky wheel gets the oil”. Only the upset/annoyed people post. I loved the eyebrows… it just added to the almost always ridiculous nature of Biff. You’ll probably be getting a *LOT* of feedback on the change in his eyebrows, but in the end, it’s not up to us, it’s up to you. All of us who liked the eyebrows just sat back and enjoyed it.

I’m sure that there are a lot of people who are sorry about not speaking up sooner… Maybe there could be a poll? “Oldschool Biff eyebrows vs. shorter, newer, more streamlined eyebrows”

Most people that were content with the eyebrows were probably completely unaware that people were complaining so much. I suppose that could be what they get for reading only the comic and nothing else on the site though.

If I may add my two cents on the matter though, I have this to say: Who is the freak in today’s comic and why is he called Biff?

Yeah, holy cow that weirded me out. I thought maybe it was April Fool Shenanigans in line with the three comic URL swap going on with QC, xkcd, and that other one.
Dude, if you want to change the eyebrows, it’s cool. I thought they were what made Biff Biff, and also they supply amusements and more room for facial expression, but hey. The comic is the funny thing, really, not the eyebrows.

I agree with most of the others who have posted.. the eyebrows ARE Biff.. there’s no messin’ with those!! It kind of made me sad to see a slightly ‘normalized’ Biff… Please don’t give in to the pressure, Chris!!

We never spoke sooner because there was no reason, Biff always was his unique self with his pointy nose, his squimpy eyes and overgrown mouth and eyebrows, eyebrows that never really changed in style only in length. But now he looks too human almost incapable of all the unique things he did, with fully readable expressions! what is next to stop his off-worldly handeling and make him just a regular human.

I have blue tacked a small mirror on the side of my moniter at work. This way it looks like I’m absent-mindedly run my hands through my hair, looking at the screen- when I’m actually carefully styling my hair.

And I can check my teeth, makeup, etc., discreetly- the possibilities are endless!

Seriously, do not listen to the people who dislike the eyebrows. I love the eyebrows, but to be honest I didn’t realise they were gone until someone mentioned it, but I did notice that he looked different somehow. The eyebrows were awesome, a weird quirky touch that just added an extra sparkle. What exactly do people complain about anyway? I can’t imagine someone getting so enraged over eyebrows that they’d email about it.

Hi, this the first time I make a comment, but I watched all biff comics.
I just wanted to say your comics are great Chris, but please dont remove Biffs eyebrows thats one of the coolest parts about Biff.
Btw I think people didnt spoke up sooner because they didnt know others where complaining about his eyebrows.

Long time reader, first time commenter. I have to say, GREAT change! The eyebrows look much better now. No more of that wild hippy crap going on here. Biff has a job and it’s about time he got on with the rest of the world and lined up like everyone else. No more barefoot doobie-smoking sillyness for him now, no sir. He’s on the road to becoming a responsible member of society now!

=)

Anyway, since this is my first comment, I just have to say that I love the comic. Pure gold, man.

I’m gonna go with the rest of the crowd here, and vote for biff to get his eyebrows back. I’ve been a longtime fan, they gave him character, this biff seems to generic. Its obvious you have a huge fan base that loved the eyebrows, so if your gonna please anyone it should be them, not the random person that can’t type sending you complaints.

Just chiming in to say I’m with the ‘keep the eyebrows’ crowd. If there is going to be a change in style, at least keep something closer to the long brows, or just shorten them a bit… making them normal just isnt the same.

This is a sad day for webcomics. Whenever I get to talking about them with friends, yours comes up nearly first and there’s always someone who hasn’t heard of you. My default response is to write down your website and hand it to them. “Enjoy,” I say.

But now it’s going to be, “Read 1-475. After that, it’s just not worth reading.”

Honestly, are you doing this to entertain people or are you doing it to make money?

I have a definite preference on the ‘Biff’s eyebrows’ issue, but my opinion is not important. In fact, there is only one opinion that matters in all this, and Chris, that’s yours. Biff is your character, and you need to do with him what you will. Those who didn’t like the eyebrows as they were still read the comic despite their preferences, as will the other camp, should you choose to stay with the change. In either case, I will remain a loyal reader. And for what it’s worth, I apologize that this is where I make my first comment. I love reading Biff, I think it’s a great comic, and I should have said so long ago. Keep up the great work, Chris!

Second – The arm. I’m pretty flexible – I can shake hands with myself over my shoulder, behind my back. But sometimes, when I do that I get a horrible cramp. I don’t know why I continue to do that – I must be mental. When I get a cramp like that, it probably looks kinda like what Biff’s got going on. Except with a beard.

Third – I have a wife. She used to be an NCO. She doesn’t let me escape the house without a quick inspection, both from long-held NCO habits, and from a desire not to be humiliated by her clod of a husband. No stray toothpaste, no stained clothes, nor any of a hundred other possible grooming errors. Yay for me!

Thank you Chris. I’m glad you finally came to your senses and I can stop sending the mass emails to stuff your inbox. Those extra long eyebrows are ruining today’s society. Children running around around with the craziness, not listening to their parents. “I don’t have to shave my eyebrows because Biff doesn’t!” Bah, it’s about time we have better positive wholesome role models in our webcomics. Ones with correctly proportioned eyebrows that we can all salute in the morning right after we enjoy a warm bowl of oatmeal and cold prune juice. Thank you again Chris for doing the right thing for America and our children.

I was truly hoping this was an April Fool’s gag, but I had to check the posts to make sure.

Changing Biff? You’re the artist and it’s up to you, but it should be what you want, not what others want. If you are listening to opinions though, let him keep his brows. They really are what makes Biff, Biff.

I think that the mouth and eyebrows was unique to Biff’s… biffyness. But sometimes it was hard to see his expression because they may be TOO long or TOO exaggerated. But don’t cut them back so much they look normal. I personally REALLY liked the style with Biff’s mouth and eyebrows. I had no idea people were actually complaining about it.

But whatever you think is best, I’m fine with. Its not my comic. XD

So, bottom line, Biff is your character, not mine. Though I liked the unique style with his eyebrows, I just can’t see him changing in the middle of the series like that. I always pictured Biff as that crazy surreal guy with crazy eyebrows/mouth. To get rid of that is like changing the character himself. But, my opinion doesn’t matter. Do what you wanna do.

Chris, eyebrows or no, keep up the excellent work. I agree with many of the comments above saying that the eyebrows gave Biff character…it kept him from being just an ordinary dude. But what REALLY makes Biff Biff are the absurd situations he finds himself in, and I have a feeling that’ll continue no matter the length of his eyebrows.

Consider this a vote in favor of eyebrows, but a stronger vote for the one, the only Biff.

Nuuu! I wants the eyebrows! I say make a poll, best trouble solver ever. Or maybe make a series of polls every morning with a simple question.
Oh, and if the conclusion says cut off brows, IT’S WRONG!!! >=(

Anywho, I’ve posted a few times already but still – awsome comics, it’s how I wake up =D

Granted It helps that I was sending an Email every day for the last 2 months to ask Chris to kill the eyebrows.
Thanks to everyone who helped me annoy Chris into submission!
You see, we CAN make a difference when we stand together!

Seriously, his previous look was what made him endearing. It was what made him unique and charming.

Removing those eyebrows and the mouth make him far too GENERIC.

You don’t want that Chris, because you KNOW that Biff is ANYTHING but generic.

Restore the glory my good man… restore it. We know you want to.

Also, giving Biff eyeballs is something else you don’t need to do. Part of the awesomeness of Biff was that we just kind of KNOW what he’s giving attention to. Having eyeballs kind of detracts from his wackiness. And if there is one thing Biff IS, it’s wacky. Which is why we LOVE HIM JUST THE WAY HE WAS!!

Not to sound like a broken record, but I too loved Biff’s unique facial features. Like everyone says, it made him Biff. It’s honestly what made this comic stick out to me and got me interested in reading it. I’m a hardcore Biffer now and I really think they should stay. Even if they’re not as long, that’s ok. Bring us back our Biff-brows please!.

biff looks scary. VERY scary. i dont see whats not to like about his eyebrows (or at least, how they were). its just silly, asking to make them short. its like asking to make elephants’ ears smaller, because they’re too big; they want to take away his uniqueness. if someone wants to draw biff for some strange reason, they wont be able to, because without his bizzare brows, he looks like anyone else.
Also, on the forums, the smileys all have biffbrows. what would be the point if biffs eyebrows werent really liike that?

Anyway, even with my view, it is totally up to Chris to decide whether he has long brows. either way, it’d still be one of my favourite webcomics.

@ Jekai: ok, short eyebrows i can just about understand, only just, and on a brief exposure to drugs, but you sound as if you want biff to stop doing the sort of things he does. that would make this comic boring. with stuff like “biff made a presentation after being told to by his boss.” biff is not a conformist or whatever the word is. do you not understand this?

You guys must have gone to a different business school than I did. The only way I’m going to expand my market share is if I bend to the wishes of people that don’t read my comic. I think I’m doing the right thing here in the long run.

@BiggerJ- I love his idea, I would be happy to punch my self in the face for biff.
@Draco Advigilat- Yes, his name shall be Steve, seems like a good name fo some on as normal looking as him.

Well I say bring back the eyebows it was the first thing I saw when the page loaded. I was like WTFBBQ.. who’s in biff’s comic!! Well the choice is up to you Chris but im waring you if you don’t fix biff i’ll blow up pluto because it seems that know one cares about poor pluto. Zulu

You know Chris, you are right. Just forget the people who only read your comic and post all the time on your comments and side with the MAN who only cares about money money money money. I quit. I’m never reading Biff again. This sucks.

After a good night’s sleep, I’m still not sure how to react to this.
People changing so drastically can be hard to adjust to.
Removing Biff’s eyebrows is no small change, either!
I wonder how many people complained…
Looks like we’ll just have to get used to Biff’s new look.

For who are we to judge the opinions and choices of others?
Our thoughts cannot sway the thoughts of others.
Only they can decide what they think.
Looks like we’ll just have to get used to the new Biff.
Sucks, though.

“You guys must have gone to a different business school than I did. The only way I’m going to expand my market share is if I bend to the wishes of people that don’t read my comic. I think I’m doing the right thing here in the long run.”

That is the exact same thing that TSR thought when they revised D&D to make it more PC. They experienced a remarkable downturn in sales and interest in response to homogenizing their product. You’re pandering to the people who don’t like your product, and alienating the ones who do. From a purely business standpoint, that’s a bad idea.

I disagree with the change from an artistic standpoint as well. It cheapens a creative outlet when the creator compromises his vision by allowing others to determine its direction.

Chris. Is this an April Fool’s joke? Because if so it’s an excellent one – you seem to have tricked about 80 people.

HOWEVER, if this isn’t really an April Fool’s i must ask you to please bring back the ‘brows. I’ll always love Biff, and i won’t stop coming here, and i know that he is your character, and yours to change as you see fit… but i still think he’s better with those beautiful wavy eyebrows.

Yeah, I liked Biff’s crazy eyebrows. Alas, statistically, people are more likely to take the initiative when they have a negative opinion (as opposed to a postive one) to voice, so it’s understandable that people have sent more e-mails complaining than complimenting. =(

I love the new Biff will you draw him again next April Fools day? it is just great how human he looks now and I am surprised no one or hardly anyone noticed his eyes nose and mouth also changed in style… and that so many forgot it was april the first… including me at first!

@Sarah – “I disagree with the change from an artistic standpoint as well. It cheapens a creative outlet when the creator compromises his vision by allowing others to determine its direction.” – I totally agree. I suppose it doesn’t matter in the end though, nothing we say will change it. I’ll still be here everyday to see Biff’s wacky adventures. They just won’t be quite as wacky now that he’s normal…

There’s an ad on the side of the screen with a guy named Trent with Biff’s eyebrows. Although that might be random. ;P But they are his. “Trent discovers that the cockroach-feeler-eyebrow-look can be hard to pull off.”

Like the majority of people who have already posted today, I have been following Biff’s misadventures for a long time, and I thoroughly enjoyed Biff’s Neverending Eyebrows, and his mouthstache. I have never posted before, but as many people have pointed out, people are more inclined to complain than they are to speak up when they are satisfied. And, like many have already noted (Sarah in particular), it’s not a good idea to either alienate your established fanbase, or to let others influence/control your art (unless it is commission-based, of course).

You’re in charge here, Chris, so follow your own lead. Biff is your creation, and in the end it doesn’t matter that the Eyebrow Advocates clearly outnumber the Quibblers. If you think three complaints in two years is a sign that you need to redesign Biff, then so be it.

As for me, I’ll retreat back into the shadows now. I will continue to follow Biff’s misadventures….

…and hope fervently that all this talk of redesigning Biff’s defining characteristics is nothing but an April Fool’s Day joke.

sorry to spoil it all for you, but this has gone long enough!
Chris, pardon me.
Second time posting, first was ~50 comments up.
Today is April 1st! Is everyone going along with a joke, or you actually think this is real?

Chris: I wholeheartedly agree that this is the best possible business decision you could have made. I think the average person will now be able to relate to Biff better, and good relation breeds good sales. I think the reason that some of my fellow readers are having trouble coping with the change is that they are not currently having a bad arm day and cannot relate with this particular topic (most of the people that can relate ARE having a bad arm day and can’t navigate to the comments in order to commend you).

I’m sure if you redo all of your old comic in this new style (and destroy all copies of the old style) that each person will be able to find one that they can relate to and continue to admire all of your work.

Again, sounding like a battered, beaten and spat on record,
I agree with practically everyone here.
The eyebrows gave biff something different.

Imagine this webcomic as a sort of kingdom with you as king,
and one peasant sends you a letter going “I don’t like you wearing that colour robe, change it or I’m not paying my taxes this year” but everyone else loves you for it. Are you going to change it and make many more upset or are you gunna behead the man for treason?

I’m sorry, that was a really bad metaphor,
My point is that you shouldn’t just change him because a couple of people dislike how he is. You’ll never please EVERYONE.

Oh and to quote you before “I’ve just spent the last few hours improving comics #400-475″ ‘Improving’? If you remove the eyebrows, you remove part of biff, quite litterially.

I really enjoy your comics, and biff being.. well, being biff; and I think his eyebrows should stay

Believe it or not, Chris, I appreciate your censorship for the sake of keeping the joke alive. I just couldn’t resist, because most of the comments remind me of people taking Stephen Colbert seriously.

Yeah I had been getting a lot of complaints lately about Biff’s eyebrows getting out of control so I decided to pull them back in a bit. I’m going to redraw the face on the recent comics over the next few weeks to bring them more in line with this improved look.
——————————————————
I can’t believe I’m the first to say this (only just looked at the comic), but is this an April Fools joke? If so it’s a good’un!

WOW!!! I already posted a comment on this saying I support biff’s old eyebrows, but I just had a horrible thought… what would happen to the comic where biff discovers that he dislikes helicopters? they cut off his eyebrows, and if there’s no eyebrows to cut off, what happens then? I actually agree with chris in what he’s done, but I still don’t like it. It’s not as bad for me, because I have a new girlfriend to distract me, but it’s still… ergh.

@Diane – that’s what I’m talking about. You already bought the books so I don’t need to worry about you. I’m making these improvements to impress people that will never come back to the website to see that they have happened. My book sales are going to triple by tomorrow!

While his left elbow is thing of beauty, and I am sure that many songs have been sung about it, his eyebrows are what make him Biff. Please do not remove them from older comics, we brow-fans have to have someplace to go to see our old friends and not just this new, brow less freak of a Biff impostor.

…is it just me, or does anybody else smell an early April Fools? I mean, I know this was uploaded yesterday, but it’s not anything new to do it early… and with today being April Fools, I wouldn’t be surprised if we had the good Biff back next week. I mean, even some of the comments sound ridiculously… ridiculous.

ANYWHO, I do the same thing all the time at school, usually right after I get a haircut… problem is, I don’t notice it until the end of the day, so there’s not much I can do about. Heh, then again, everybody does stuff like this once in a while, so we’re all a little bit even.

*Taps glass with fork* Everybody! Everybody! Settle down now! Has no one checked the date? What says that Mr. Chris here can’t keep an April Fool’s Day joke going for this long? And thus I’ve deduced that this is all a prank! You’ll never get away with this, Chris! How come no one figured it out yet?

I have only been reading your strip for a short time, and must say I love it, found it by way of PvP. If I am wrong on this then I agree I say keep the brows. That being said I’m thinking everyone might want to remember what day it is.

Keep the eyebrows. Biff isn’t the same without them. The few times that Biff has lost his eyebrows (I’m thinking it was a few. I know it happened at least once) there was a real good reason why they were lost. I’m sure that it involved a huge fire. KEEP THE EYEBROWS!! They are what make’s Biff ‘Biff’. If you want to stop drawing the eyebrows for a while I’m sure you can come up with a fantastic Biff themed idea to do so.

“La gasp! What is this madness?! Where are Biff’s eyebrows?!” Is what I thought as soon as I realized that Biffs eyebrows were missing, not because of some “Biff-ish” accident, but because Biff had a makeover. I understand that you are doing this to please the mass of Biff Eyebrow and mouth haters, but Come on!! Not the eyebrows!! *Sigh…* I guess I’ll have to adjust to the lack of crazy eyebrows v_v . . .

Wow… I used to love to read the Biff comic, and one of my favorite parts was Chris’ commentary on them. I loved that I got to know Chris a little bit, as well as laugh at the funny incidents that relate to the wonderful comic of the day. Whether or not Biff is Biff w/o the eyebrows is almost a non-issue. (granted, Biff ISN’T Biff w/o them) This is because the integrity and creative insight I saw in Chris, is now crushed. I used to respect him, but the comments he is leaving to support his actions, are very disappointing to say the least. It seems as though Biff’s own creator has less stock in him than his readers. Biff is no longer a quirky product of creativity, he is a monetary product alone. I will no longer read Biff. Even if the eyebrows go back, I simply no longer have any respect for Chris. You let me down.

Does no one else realize what today is? APRIL FOOL’S DAY!
And don’t the denizens of the internet have a terrible propensity towards making the poor, gullible, unsuspecting masses writhe in confusion and despair on this very day? I mean, Google merging with Virgin to form Project Virgle, the first permanent colony on Mars?
*blank stare*

Erm… I’m a bit shocked that so many people have failed to realize that today is in fact april 1st….. you may also know this day by its other name…. April Fools day! I am hoping that maybe Chris is going through deleting comments in order to keep the gag alive a bit longer, as I find it unlikely that I am the only one to realize the gag. However april 1st is waining now, perhaps it is time to let them in on the joke?

I wonder how many people here looked at the date before complaining/gasping at the eyebrows thing. Or read the banner on the right. Or realized what day it is. Or glanced at a calendar. I can’t think of any other ways to say that today is a special day. Pag tem fa, patone?

Chris:
You can’t always make everyone happy, I simply suggest you to do what you think is right, if you literally listened to everyone who has something to suggest and did what they want, you would simply end up ruining everything.
That’s why I insist. Do what you think is right.

EDIT: I ended up drawing in the eyebrows and mouth on my monitor, but now I have 3 squiggly lines in the middle of the screed. I shouldn’t have used the permanent marker I guess. you owe me a new monitor Chris, since it is your fault.

K this time I will put it right out there for all to see….Today is April 1st(April Fools Day).. and I think Chris has done a great jod of pulling his prank good job man. Just read his own comments.

“I don’t need to worry about you. I’m making these improvements to impress people that will never come back to the website to see that they have happened. My book sales are going to triple by tomorrow!”

Impress people that will never be back to see it anyways ..ugh
and triple sales in one day lol

“@Jake – At least 3 in the past 2 years.”

3 people complained compared to all of us so Biff gets a makeover somebody better get the toastersnake off Chris cuz he’s out of oxegen.

Im calling Chris’ bluff and trusting eyebrows will be back in full glory tommorow

Great idea Chris! George Lucas would be proud of your newfound money-making prowess, especially the masterstroke of redoing your old strips to match the great new look! That’s what it’s all about! I salute you.

Psycho Duck for the first time in awhile haven’t said “The Duck has spoken” 0_0
That is not a good sign.

Chris, I have been silently reading your comic for about 6 months (or more) and I have truly enjoyed your own sense of creativity. Goodness, I’d be surprise if you are not already an internet celebrity.

However, what is up with bending your own creativity to satisfy few complaints over large number of supporter? Plus, it is not very business-like to disappoint large number of people over few complaints. If you truly want to make some business out of your creativity, thats fine, nothing wrong with that. Improving some artwork (nothing removed), thats fine too.

Unfortunately, removing one of the icon (I repeat, ICON) from this popular comic takes the uniqueness out of the comic itself. This by itself may send away some longtime and/or loyal costumers.

Although the eyebrow (and the mouth) have nothing to do with the actual intent of the story, it is there to add more fun-like bizarre atmosphere to the comic, and create a very unique physical trait to Biff. I mean how many bald, wide mouthed, foot long eyebrowed, invincible, pale character in this world? Not very many if any.

Chances are likely that I wouldn’t have written this had you only created the artwork out of your own creativity. However, now that I found your reason amidst all those comments, it isn’t the same. Having a favorite comic and someone’s unique form of style taken over by money is actually quite scary.

All I request here, Chris, is not to let few complaints and money fear control the epicness of this comic. If it does, I can guarantee you that any more art, made out of your creative range due to those two reasons stated, the comic would come to portray itself with false atmosphere.

After reading these comments, I have come to a conclusion.
Part of Biff is in those eyebrows, and taking them away is very BAD…
Really, if there were people here commenting all lot the time about his bad eyebrows I would understand, but they aren’t.
I think that taking away the eyebrows takes out a big chunk of his very Biffness.
Love is all I feel for them, and somehow I doubt that so many other people would feel differently.

Fine, it would attract more buyers, but it would alienate many of the people here who might buy a book in the future.
Oh sure, you get a few more buys now but a lot less later!
Operating the comic as a business is a bad idea anyway.
Losing longtime fans to a simple decision like this is also bad.
Seriously, the only good chose is to keep the eyebrows.

What do you think are the chances that Chris would alienate his fans and change the character that he created and has been drawing for years? Why would he strip away the individuality of his beloved Biff? Why would he express no desire to return to the classic Biff style despite the overwhelming response he has received from his readers?

The answer is: he wouldn’t. Just analyze some of his replies to your comments. And here’s the most glaring response that I’m surprised didn’t give it away:

Jake: “Out of curiosity, what is the magnitude of the messages against the traditional Biff? Are they a couple, or are they in the hundreds?”

Chris’s reply: “@Jake – At least 3 in the past 2 years.”

His argument for changing the design is that he has received mail regarding Biff’s eyebrow length that led him to believe he would profit from changing the design. Wait, Chris has been drawing Biff for years, and now he suddenly cares about making a profit? And as he even said, he’s only received three such complaints in the past 2 years. He’s been dropping hints the entire time, and nobody seems to have realized that it’s APRIL FOOL’S DAY.

How about a compromise? Keep one eyebrow long and have the other short. That way you will appeal to both the people who aren’t remotely interested in the comic and never read it, as well as those that do.

I and many other readers have been highly turned off by the new change.

I was planning on buying The Book of Biff when I got a job, but if you start changing the artwork in it to conform to this new and (in my opinion) negative change, I don’t think I’ll want to buy it anymore.

Most of the arguments presented in this comment section have cited one of the following points: (A) only a few people requested this change, so it is not worth making, and (B) you are trying to sell out your artistic integrity.

I have two suggestions for what to do with Biff’s appearance.

1. Make two versions of the Book: one with the original look, and one with the new look. If you stop selling the Book with the original look, I’m just not going to buy it.

2. Have a poll with the following options: (A) I dislike the change, and I no longer want to buy the Book, (B) I dislike the change, but I still want to buy the Book, (C) I like the change, but it did not convince me to buy the Book, (D) I like the change, and now I want to buy the Book, (E) I like the change, but I already bought the Book in its original form, (F) I dislike the change, and I am glad that I already bought the Book in its original form. If more people answer “D” than all of the other choices combined, THEN AND ONLY THEN should you carry through with the change. (I am willing to bet that option “D” will actually receive the LEAST votes.)

What do you think, Chris? I hope you will at least seriously consider my suggestions.

Well, a couple hours after my posts here, my little 7 yo sister tries do a lame joke, she gives my mother a glass of hot water when ask to get her a drink, and she shouts “April Fools!” after that for some reason I immediately think of this comic and just started laughing! (And I didn’t have the heart to tell my sister I wasn’t laughing at her joke.) Wow Chris, you really had me going on this one! I still can’t stop chuckling to myself.

Hey, the prank must be over, that dude with the funny name mentioned it without his post getting removed! I did one earlier today, but mine was gone. I had to settle for posting April fools in the capitals. Great job on the April fools joke, Chris. I don’t know how many people did or didn’t fall for it, but it sure was funny. =P

WOW. LOTS OF COMMENTS
*Un-capslocks*
well, i like the change, but as long as its not permanent. I guess he just goes for annual eyebrow and mouth trims. now you should show them progressively growing back.

Okay, I’m a first time poster, been reading biff for ages now….Does anyone find it ironic that it’s April Fool’s Day? Am I the first one to notice this? Chris can’t be that stupid to take the eyebrows out of biff, just for a couple complaints about eyebrow length? He’d lose a lot of readers, and he never seemed like the kind of person (from what I’ve read in his little notes) who would do such a thing.

So, I saw the biff comic this morning, and laughed pretty hard. I thought it was weird that NO ONE realized it was april fools day-but it makes sense, since you blocked the comments! Probably one of the better april fools pranks played by a webcomic artist this year. grats, Chris

*cackles insanely* I just got back from school. Awesome joke. Sad to say, I don’t celebrate April’s fool and stayed home that day so I had no idea it was April’s fool day. So, understandably, I got pretty upset when there were no eyebrows. but still, I bow to you Chris, for the super-awesome-mega-fantastic-insanely-hilarious-time-consuming-but-worth-it joke. *applause*

Outstanding prank Chris..my first post got through your web; however I didn’t know there was a web untill my more upfront post didn’t make it for a while…love the cloak n dagger stuff…now I see all came through and I wasn’t the first to spot the joke…love it and please keep up the good work.

0.0…. xD xD xD that is to funny. i knew today was april fools day. but i didnt think chris would do something like that. as i type this all i can say is OMG i cant believe he did that. *clap clap clap* Well played. ^_^

Heh, I started to realize it was an April Fools day joke as soon as I read that “Email” in the comments. Nice one Chris, this and the April Fools day joke on Dr. McNinja have to be the funniest ones I’ve seen in a long time! Two great April Fools day jokes in one day.

Kudos to Alex for being the only person not part of the two parties that actually posted the first thing saying that it was a April Fools Joke… I was wondering how NOONE saw or posted that they knew it was a joke… Though I did consider the possibility of some playing around, though I myself am no joker saddly.

ROFLMFAO!!!!::curled around the massive cramp in her stomach, tears streaming from her eyes and still can’t stop laughing:: OMG! I noticed it earlier when I first read it! I was so disappointed that my other regular comics didn’t do anything for the day that it made your comic stand out even more! Sad to say though, I never read the comments ’til just now and OMG!!!! This is just too hilarious! Though I did wonder why people kept repeating the same accusation ’til I realized that’s what you meant when you said you’d been holding some of the comments back; Best joke ever! ::continues laughing, her fiance looking at her as if she belongs in a mental ward~”You’re having too much fun with that.”:: Thank you Chris, I needed a good laugh ^^ Keep up the good work!